Records of the Research Institute for the Study of Man's (RISM) Study of Chronic Marihuana Users in Jamaica (The Ganja Study)

The Study of Chronic Marihuana Users in Jamaica was initiated at the invitation of the Center for Studies of Narcotic and Drug Abuse of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and carried out by the Research Institute for the Study of Man (RISM) in collaboration with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the West Indies (UWI). The research program was designed to provide data on the clinical and social effects of chronic cannabis smoking in Jamaica, the first study to be undertaken in a natural as well as laboratory setting. Preparation for the study involved negotiation with several agencies within the Government of Jamaica, which at the time prohibited the cultivation, use and possession of cannabis. Discussions with authorities in the Jamaican government and the University of the West Indies resulted in full support for the project. Agreements were made for the protection and privacy of field workers, informants, subjects and staff, and arrangements were made for facilities to conduct clinical studies of long-term effects of smoking cannabis. Combining anthropological and medical research methodology, the study began in June 1970 with anthropological field studies which were conducted over the first 18 months. Sixty volunteer subjects were selected from these communities and admitted to the University Hospital in November 1970. Thirty marijuana users with a history of at least ten years of past use, and 30 non-smokers, underwent medical and psychological examinations over a period of six days. Anthropological and clinical data analysis was completed in February 1972, and findings were reported to the NIMH and the Jamaican Government in March of the same year. Controversy surrounded publication of the results of the study. They did not confirm existing research concerning negative consequences derived from the use of cannabis, most particularly the "anti-motivational" aspect often associated with the use of the substance. In 1973, a Conference on Cross Cultural Perspectives on Cannabis was held in Chicago preceding the IXth International Congress of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences. Supported by the NIMH, the conference was attended by over sixty scientists involved in various aspects of research on the complexities of cannabis in relation to man and culture, representing the fields of anthropology, botany, genetics, pharmacology, psychiatry and sociology. The proceedings, edited by Vera Rubin, were published as Cannabis and Culture in 1975.

References Rubin, Vera, and Lambros Comitas. Ganja in Jamaica: A Medical Anthropological Study of Chronic Marihuana Use. The Hague and Paris: Mouton and Co., 1975. Rubin, Vera, ed. Cannabis and Culture. Paris and The Hague: Mouton. 1975.